Franklin teacher inspires cancer ride

When Catherine Middelmann thinks about her fourth-grade teacher Kirstin Eickmann, she laughs as one moment in particular comes to mind.

By Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Posted Jun. 12, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 12, 2012 at 12:05 PM

By Matt Tota/Daily News staff

Posted Jun. 12, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 12, 2012 at 12:05 PM

FRANKLIN

» Social News

When Catherine Middelmann thinks about her fourth-grade teacher Kirstin Eickmann, she laughs as one moment in particular comes to mind.

“This is a funny little story,” Catherine began. “When someone in my class wasn’t paying attention, (Eickmann) walked up to him and said, ‘If you’re not paying attention, you should jump up and down and say: ‘I’m not paying attention. I’m not paying attention.’”

Until recently, the 10-year-old Franklin resident missed moments like that one, because Eickmann, who teaches at Helen Keller Elementary School, was on an extended leave of absence battling a second diagnosis of breast cancer.

Catherine wanted to help her teacher in any way she could.

She knew the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge Kids Ride — a bike-a-thon for kids who want to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute — was approaching. And she had the idea of creating a team to honor Eickmann and raise money for cancer research.

Catherine started riding in the PMC Kids Ride when she was 4 years old, inspired to do so by her father, Martin, who has ridden in the PMC four times.

On Sunday, Catherine and her team, Eickmann’s Energizers, made up in part of four of her best friends from class, rode three miles, beginning and ending at Jefferson Elementary School.

As of yesterday, Eickmann’s Energizers had raised $1,100.

Eickmann — to the team’s surprise — arrived at the race to see the team bearing her name. “She got there after we had finished,” Catherine said. “She was just like, “Great job you guys; it must have been hard.’”

The bigger cause spurring Catherine to ride didn’t cross her mind until after she’d sweated through the 3-mile course.

“Well, when you’re riding the bike you think it’s just something fun to do with your friends,” she said. “It’s just riding with your friends and talking the whole time, and then you realize you are doing this for a good cause.”

Catherine is happy Eickmann, who is cancer-free, has returned to class looking healthy.

“She seems like she is doing really well,” she said. “You could walk in the room and could not tell that she was someone that had cancer.”

And the moment Eickmann returned, like the others, will stick in her head.

“It was a surprise because we were doing a big project,” Catherine said. “She walked in the room, and I saw her there, and I was just like: ‘She’s back!’ ”